It seems FPL cleaned up the downed power lines yesterday, but has revised its estimate to turn on all the power in the area to Tuesday. We’ll see if Coral Gables goes through with its threat to impose fines.

I was out for a brief drive to the library today (Comcast still hasn’t fixed the internet, and the library has wifi) and saw a lot of electricity trucks working in the area. Hard to know, but maybe that letter from the Commission had an effect; or maybe it’s just our turn.

Does a city have the power to order a state-regulated utility to restore power by a set date after a hurricane? Given the relationship between cities and the State of Florida, I’d be a little surprised if the answer were yes, at least in the absence of clearly dilatory or unreasonable behavior, although I am certainly not an expert in local government law. The resolution cites two authorities: § 2-203 of the Coral Gables code and Florida Statutes § 162.09. The Coral Gables code section is about cease and desist letters:

Sec. 2-203. – Penalty for failure to obey cease and desist letter.

(a) The city attorney is authorized to issue cease and desist letters for violation of the City Code, Zoning Code and any other applicable law where such violation causes harm to the city, its residents or its businesses.

(b) It shall be unlawful for any person or entity to disobey the demand made by the city attorney or his/her designee, on behalf of the City of Coral Gables, in a cease and desist letter.And And

(c) Failure to obey the demand made in a cease and desist letter shall result in the issuance of a code enforcement citation, punishable by a fine of $500.00 per day.

(d) A violator who has been issued a citation for failure to comply with the demand in the cease and desist letter, must elect to either comply with the demand in the letter and pay the fine or request an administrative hearing before a special master, as set forth in chapter 101, article VI, division 3 of the City Code.

(e) As a cumulative remedy, the city attorney is authorized to file a civil action to enforce the cease and desist letter, the city is entitled to an injunction and the violator is responsible for attorney’s fees and costs incurred. Such proceedings shall be expedited by the court.

(f) The city, as well as its elected and appointed officials, employees and agents are immunized from civil or criminal liability for actions taken in accordance with this section.

(g) Subsection (a) of this Code section shall be incorporated into section 2-201 of the City Code as subsection (13).

As for the state statute, I see authority for “$15,000 per violation if the code enforcement board or special magistrate finds the violation to be irreparable or irreversible in nature.” But is failure to repair quickly enough really a zoning violation? Maybe at some point yes, but a week after a hurricane? Surely there is some implicit (and in the case of the state law, fairly explicit) reasonableness limit operative here?

As to the Coral Gables ordinance, I sort of wonder how it applies–does FPL have a legal duty to the city under zoning law that is enforceable in this manner? (I honestly don’t know.) Does it make sense to talk of ‘cease and destining” from failure to deal with a public emergency? (It might.) More to the point, though, even if the legal answer is yes, can you really make FP&L do anything in these post-hurricane conditions? (Not as far as I can see.)

Perhaps prudently, therefore, the Commission’s resolution only demands that the power be back by Sunday at 11:45pm (although it demands downed power lines blocking streets be cleared today). As FP&L has publicly said it will have all the power back on the east coast of Florida by Sunday unless your house is destroyed or it would be dangerous to turn it on, at least as to the power restoration this may be more sound than fury.

So who knows, maybe my tax money will be spent on a suit about this too.

Don’t get me wrong, I have no love for FP&L, even if they did get my lights back on a couple of days ago. Having had no power for five weeks after Andrew, and having everything in my fridge just spoil, I understand how awful it can be to be without it — and that it is even worse for people who depend on medical equipment.

I’m all for getting tough with FP&L on solar power, on burying power lines (on which, let the record show, Coral Gables wimped out long ago), and even on harrying them to fix the power. But is this the right way to go about it? I am not convinced. FP&L may not do a great job of pre-hurricane hardening, but large-scale post-hurricane restoration is something they seem fairly good at, if only because they have practice and get massive help from out of state.

I’d much rather see Coral Gables get tough with FP&L about pre-hurricane preparedness, like burying power lines, than this post-hurricane spasm — whether it is sincere or a publicity stunt. (I should emphasize that it could be either for all I know. Normally I would call up and try to interview some Commissioners about this, which I think is the right thing to do when writing about people. But I expect that they have better things to do immediately post-Irma than talk to me and I’m not about to bother them.)

The University of Miami is closely monitoring Hurricane Irma, a major category 5 storm with maximum sustained winds of 185 mph, which is currently located approximately 1,200 miles east-southeast of Miami-Dade County. The potential for impacts to South Florida are increasing and plans are being rapidly implemented to ensure the safety of our University community and facilities. The earliest time South Florida would experience impacts is still Friday evening. This storm is a rapidly evolving situation, and changes may need to be made quickly regarding University operations. If this were to occur, these changes will be communicated via an ENN alert.

The University is strongly encouraging all UM students to rapidly implement evacuation plans and leave South Florida no later than the end of Thursday. Any on-campus students who do not evacuate may be required to relocate to an off-site University or government evacuation center that only serves as a refuge of last resort and has the most basic of accommodations.

All classes and student-related events on all campuses are cancelled today through Friday, September 8, as well as all weekend classes. At a minimum, students will be given 48 hours notice to return before classes will resume, and an exact date for the resumption of classes on the Coral Gables and Marine campuses has not been set.

The Coral Gables (excluding the Lennar Foundation Medical Center) and Marine campuses will close at the end of Wednesday, and remain closed at least through Sunday, September 10, except for those select essential personnel, as identified in units’ UReady Continuity Plan, with a role in campus preparation of critical functions. Residential housing and dining halls will remain open, but other facilities on the campuses—including the libraries, wellness center, and Student Center Complex—will be closed at that time.

An additional communication will be issued later today by the University of Miami Health System and Miller School of Medicine with more detailed information on changes to clinical, non-essential, and essential operations.

President Frenk declared a State of Emergency to emphasize the importance of response to this critical threat to life-safety and ensure all necessary University resources are being allocated to prepare for this storm. The University’s Emergency Operations Center has been activated to ensure a coordinated University response over the coming days.

Students living on campus have had mandatory floor meetings and received information from staff in their residential colleges; all students should communicate with their parents about their plans. Faculty and staff should make sure that their unit and personal emergency plans are in place.

Employees: The time card approval deadline was moved to today, Wednesday, September 6 at 3 p.m. Because of early approval, you will need to estimate any missed punches for tomorrow before approving the timecard. If you have any questions, please email the Payroll Office at etk.payroll@miami.edu.